Month: March 2017

Small businesses and individuals in China have long found it hard to get loans, as the country’s government-controlled banks prefer to lend to state-owned enterprises. But financial technology, which includes internet banking and has made banking services accessible as long as one has a mobile phone, has become a game changer, said panelists at a discussion at the Boao Forum for Asia. Inclusive finance refers to bringing banking services to the poor. High operation costs and the high risk of defaults in microloans has traditionally made it hard for banks to offer such services. Fintech can come in to help solve this loan crunch issue for the real economy. The good cooperation between Fintech and SMEs in alternative financing has implied an optimistic foreseeing of a potential in the Asian market. Continue reading

Today, technology-savvy businesses are picking up the slack, offering lending options outside the purview of traditional banks. The global phenomenon of alternative lending has been experiencing particularly explosive growth in one regional market: Asia. In Singapore, the financial center of the region, the major alternative finance players in Singapore are peer-to-company (P2C) lenders: specialized P2P lenders that only provide loans for SMEs. Market leader Capital Match was founded in 2014, but says it has already paid out more than S$32m (US$22.5m) in loans. Capital Match is known as the leading firm in offering good quality of service and loans for its borrowers and investors, and now is trying to extend its reach across the Asian Market and offer multiple types of alternative financing products. This has become the main trend in the area for SMEs to seek financing options. Continue reading